Crimson 3.2 Using the Gateway Block Export Import Tool for Devices
Abstract
This document describes how to use the device level export and import tools for Gateway Blocks in Crimson 3.2.
Products
CR1000 series HMIs
CR3000 series HMIs
Graphite series HMIs and Controllers
FlexEdge Controllers
Required Software
Crimson 3.2 Build 3.2.1016 and later
Use Case
Tools for exporting Gateway Blocks and importing can be used to move and/or copy block mappings from one device to another. In previous versions of Crimson, this could only be done one block at a time. It was therefore limited in its usefulness.
In current versions of Crimson 3.2, this has been updated to enable you to export all of the gateway blocks from a device to a single text file. This file can be manipulated if desired in another application such as Notepad or Excel. The file can then be imported into another device to move or clone gateway block mappings.
Database Configuration
Assume you already have a device configured with multiple gateway blocks. Now you want to move or clone these to another device. Select the source device that already has the blocks configured, and in the Block Commands section, click on the Export Gateway Blocks link. Save this to a file.
If you just want to copy or move the exact same mappings to another device, select the new device, and then click on the link for Import Gateway Blocks. In the Import Gateway B locks dialog, browse to the file you exported from the source device, and click Open. This will import all the block mappings into the new device.
Note that for this to work, you will need to have all the same data tags and/or comms devices available that were in these blocks in the source file. Otherwise, it will cause errors in the database due to the missing items. If you are just moving blocks within the same file, this is not an issue. But when copying blocks to another file, you would also need to have the same data tags or devices available. You can use the Data Tag section’s export/import tools for this. If the blocks are mapped directly to another master type device, then you will need to install the same communications driver in the destination file. Then you need to name the device with the exact same name.
If the master device has predefined registers such as Modbus, then having the same device name is enough for the imported block mappings to work. But if the master device is a tag name-based driver, such as the Allen Bradley Native tags via L5K File driver, then you also need to import the L5K file into the new device to make those PLC tags available.
In some cases, you may want to modify the exported text file to change or the mappings. You can use a text editor like Notepad, and you can also use Excel. If you want to use Excel, you need to open it as a tab delimited text file. Select File | Open in Excel, set the File Type dropdown to All Files (*.*), and then browse to find the gateway block export text file.
When you are done editing the file, make sure that you save and close it. Then you can import this file into the new device. You cannot import a file into Crimson that is currently open in Excel, because Excel will take exclusive access to the file.
Disclaimer
It is the customer's responsibility to review the advice provided herein and its applicability to the system. Red Lion makes no representation about specific knowledge of the customer's system or the specific performance of the system. Red Lion is not responsible for any damage to equipment or connected systems. The use of this document is at your own risk. Red Lion standard product warranty applies.
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