The Unity LL984 Descriptor Tool enables users to extend an application upgrade beyond the initial results provided by the Unity Pro
984LL programming software converter. This is accomplished by providing two options for manipulating the documentation fields of an imported Modsoft, ProWORX NxT or ProWORX 32 project. The purpose is to provide options to
the user that will allow the Filtering of the variables list with Wildcard capability. The user must be familiar with all aspects of the 984LL import procedure as documented in Unity Pro Help.
After file conversion by Unity Pro, the following elements of a legacy LL984 application can be manipulated with the Unity LL984 Descriptor Tool:
- Descriptors
- Short comments
- Variable Names
Modsoft Conversions
- The symbols in a Modsoft project are imported into the Descriptor property of the Unity variable.
- The symbol descriptors in a Modsoft project are imported as the Comment property of the Unity variable.
ProWORX Conversions
- The descriptors in a ProWORX project are imported into Descriptors properties of the Unity variable.
- The variable short comment is imported as the Comment property of the Unity variable.
There is also the option to clear the existing Descriptor Field content (just before writing the output XEF file) to conserve PLC memory.
Here are the two options available for the manipulation...
Option #1 utilizes the basic functionality of the tool: Concatenation of the Descriptor Fields into a single string.
After executing the tool with only option #1 configured, the user will be able to use wild card inclusive filtering on a single field in the Unity Pro Data Editor to limit the Data Editor content to Variables meeting the filter string. Click the image for an enlarged view.
Option #2 provides the user the ability to selectively change the Variable Name from the State RAM based Unity Pro converter produced name to a name based on a concatenation of selected Descriptor Fields.
Creation of Variable Names from the concatenated Descriptors also includes automated substitution of underscores for illegal Unity Pro Variable Name characters (with a compacting algorithm to remove adjacent underscores), truncation of names exceeding 32 characters and unique name validation which will append the original State RAM based Unity Pro name (e.g.: "_400001") as a suffix to resolve conflicts.
Here is a view (click for an enlarged image) of the Editor where the user will 'Commit' the ConformedVarName to be used as the VarName. Committing names is by Right Clicking on a row (or multiple rows) and using the contextual menu item; Commit Selected Variable(s).
Editing sessions can be Saved and re-Opened, as the process of creating variable names may take time.
There are also Filtering and Find/Replace features which can be especially useful to standardize abbreviations used in the tool's creation of the ConformedVarName from the RawVarName. For example, the Original Descriptors used may have include multiple abbreviations for Pressure
Pressure may have been used as... Pressure Press or even Press.
and may have many instances of combined usage, like... High Pressure Steam or High Press Steam
Descriptors had a maximum of 135 characters and Unity Pro Variable Names are limited to 32 characters, so finding appropriate abbreviations can be by trial and error. When the user replaces a string in the RawVarName, the tool re-generates the ConformedVarName. So referring to the combined usage example above, replacing...
High Pressure Steam with HPS gains 13 available characters in the ConformedVarName
Some examples of common abbreviations that can be used to gain characters are...
- MAX for Maximum
- MIN for Minimum
- AVG for Average
Note: Options #1 and #2 have no interaction with one another.