Projects#

Projects are the core of your system. They contain the programs, routines, and asset definitions. Projects are contained within solutions.

When you access your vault, you can display the projects in the content pane as you prefer by using the view control at the top of the content pane.

../../_images/ftvt_views.png

Project View Controls#

Icon

Description

panel

Displays the projects in the solution as a set of panels, with a selection checkbox in the upper left corner.

checklist

Displays the projects in the solution as list, with a selection checkbox at the left side of the list item.

table

Displays the projects in the solution as a gridded table, with a selection checkbox in the first column of the table.

Note

All views contain the same project information.

Sort and filter#

You can sort and filter the projects in a solution to make it easier to find the projects in which you are interested.

Sorting can be done on these fields:

  • Name - Sort the project list into alphabetical order based on the name of project.

  • Type - Sort the project list into groups based on design environment.

  • Status - Sort the project list into groups based on project status.

  • Date - Sort the project list into groups based on the last updated date.

After the list is sorted you can change the sort order to ascending or descending. You can also filter the list based on the item selected as the sort field. In Filter type any portion of the item that you want to use to reduce the number of projects listed.

For example, if you only wanted to include projects that had the letter “Z” in their project name, in Sort by select Name and then, in Filter by, enter Z.

Design software versions#

You can upload projects from RSLogix 5000 and Studio 5000 Logix Designer to the vault for storage and collaboration. You can use FactoryTalk Design Studio to convert a project to a newer version. The versions available are listed in the following table:

Design Software Versions#

Application

Versions

RSLogix 5000

v.16, v.17, v.18, v.19, v.20

Studio5000 Logix Designer

v.21, v.23, v.24, v.26, v.27, v.28, v.29, v.30, v.31. v.32, v.33, v.34 and later

Note

There is no ability to downgrade from one version to another. For example, you cannot convert a v.32 project to a v.31 project.

For background information about importing and exporting projects from Logix Designer, see Logix 5000 Controllers Import/Export.

Project naming requirements#

Projects stored in the FactoryTalk Vault have the same naming rules as Logix Designer project names.

  • The first character must be a letter or an underscore

  • The subsequent characters can be letters, numbers, or underscores

  • The last character must be a letter or a number

  • The project name must be at least two characters

  • The project name cannot be longer than 40 characters

Add projects#

You can upload projects individually to FactoryTalk Hub or you can add multiple projects at once. Project files that can be uploaded have these file extensions:

  • .L5x

  • .ACD

  • .L5k

You can add a note to each project added to the vault to list any additional information about the project, such as the programmer, the original version, or the type of solutions it includes.

To add one or more projects

  1. From your vault, either select the Add button or the Add New Projects panel to open the Add Projects to page.

  2. Next to Add Projects to, use the drop-down to change which solution in your vault is used to store the projects. By default, the solution that was selected in the vault navigation pane is used.

  3. In Add Projects, select the project file to upload to the vault using either of these methods:

    • From File Explorer, select the project file and then drag the file to the Add Projects window and drop it in the space provided.

    • Click Select Files to display the Open dialog box where you can navigate to the file, select the file, and then click Open.

  4. (optional) Click the plus (+) icon to add a note about this upload and then click the check mark icon to save the note.

  5. After adding the projects you want to upload, select Save to start the upload.

Notifications appear to inform you of the status of the project upload. Once all components are uploaded Upload complete message displays.

Upgrade projects#

Select projects from your vault to upgrade them from their existing design software version to a later version. You can convert individual or multiple projects.

To upgrade projects

  1. From the vault navigation pane, select the solution.

  2. In the project list, select the checkboxes for the projects you want to upgrade.

  3. In the vault toobar, select Upgrade.

  4. In Upgrade Logix Project, under Select Logix Version, choose the design software version you want to upgrade the project to.

  5. If you want to change the controller type, in the project details click the down arrow next to Select Controller Type and choose the new controller type.

    Note

    Changing the controller type will change, delete, and/or invalidate controller properties and other project data that is not valid for the new controller type.

  6. Select CONTINUE to start the upgrade.

  7. In Review Warnings, confirm the project name, the upgrade selected, and the impact of the controller type change if selected. To continue, select UPGRADE.

During upgrade, the project status is Upgrading. Once the upgrade is complete, the project status will change to Ready.

Edit project properties#

After uploading a project, edit project properties to update the project name and description, and to add notes to the file history.

To edit project properties

  1. From the vault navigation pane, select the solution.

  2. In the project list, select the project whose properties you want to edit.

  3. The Properties pane is displayed on the right side of the vault window.

  4. To change the project name, click the Edit pencil pencil next to the name. The name must adhere to naming requirements. See Project naming requirements.

  5. To change the project description, click the Edit pencil pencil next to Description.

  6. To view the history of the project file, click the History tab.

  7. If you need to select a new file as the primary file for the project, click ADD NEW FILE.

  8. If you want to add a note about the file version, under Note, click the plus (+) sign to add a note.

    • In the Note box, add the note you want to apply to the associated file, then click SAVE to save the note withthe project history.

  9. Click Save to save the edited project propertiess.

Tip

Projects can be reverted to their previous version from the File History tab.

Download a project#

The project file can be downloaded as the different file types that are listed in the following table:

Uploaded File Type

v.16

v.17 and above

v.32 and above

ACD

L5k

L5k and L5x

L5K, L5X, AML, RDF

L5k

ACD

ACD and L5x

ACD, L5X, AML, RDF

L5x

Not supported

ACD and L5k

ACD, L5K, AML, RDF

Tip

Downloading a v.32 controller project as an AML or RDF file is new feature introduced in the December 2022 release. If you uploaded projects to the vault in previous releases and you want to download them as an AML or RDF file you must either upload the project again, upgrade the project, or change the controller type so that the project is reanalyzed.

You can select multiple projects to download at once.

To download projects

  1. From the vault navigation pane, select the solution.

  2. In the project list, select the checkboxes for the projects you want to download.

  3. In the vault toolbar, select Download and then select the file format (ACD, L5K, L5X, AML, or RDF). You can select multiple file formats for download.

    Note

    Depending on your browser settings, you might be prompted to give permission for the download to occur.

The side panel displays the download progress of the files being downloaded. The project files are downloaded to your default download folder.

Results#

After uploading or upgrading a project, you will be notified of the results. You will be able to review which portions of the project transferred successfully and which ones resulted in an error for which corrective action can be taken.

Filter#

You can filter the project list to display a targeted list of projects. Filtering is done by clicking in the filter field and then typing the filter criteria into the filter box. See Sorting and Filtering.

To help you move around the project page quickly, use keyboard shortcuts.